For years we strung 3 strands of electric wire at 12, 30, and 48 inches high to keep the deer out of our old vegetable garden. Electric FencesĮlectric fencing might be perfect for you. Learn more about ways to keep rabbits away.Īrmadillos have long sharp claws perfect for digging their way into your garden. Instead of going straight down, bend half of the bottom in an L-shape and bury it several inches deep to thwart the diggers. If you have a problem with determined little diggers such as rabbits, woodchucks, armadillos, skunks, or gophers, a shorter, 5-foot tall, chicken wire fence will do as long as you bury the bottom 12 inches. His whole family is waiting to invade your garden after dark. Learn more about deterring squirrels.ĭon’t let this cute baby raccoon fool you. (Standard chicken wire has holes that a determined squirrel can squeeze through.) Of course, you can also squirrel-proof you vegetable beds by installing row covers, bird netting, or hardware cloth. When it comes to squirrels, look specifically for fencing that’s meant for them or rats. Bend it slightly outward so it flops over under their weight and prevents them from making it into the garden. A 4-foot fence with a floppy top will them from climbing it. If climbers including squirrels and raccoons are a problem, any fence needs to be unattached to the post at the top 12 inches. Here are the 4 kinds of fencing we’ve mentioned from left to right- heavy mesh polypropylene, lightweight plastic mesh, galvanized metal hardware cloth, and galvanized chicken wire. Since they are experts at tunneling, bury at least a foot of the wire. If mice and voles are a problem you’ll need to use wire with tighter holes such as hardware cloth. They can’t gnaw through the metal either. They are like bulldozers, flattening what they do not eat. The addition of chicken wire kept the porcupines from getting into the garden. Since we have not only deer but woodchucks and porcupines who like to visit the garden, we added galvanized chicken wire to the bottom of the fence, burying the lower 6 to 8 inches to keep them from digging or crawling underneath. When we added fruit trees that needed year-round protection, we turned to the heavier posts and stronger fencing material for most of the garden. It also weighs down any neighboring tree branches. Ice can coat the mesh and weigh down the fence. Since heavy wet snow and ice can weigh down the fencing enough to rip it or even bend the rebar, we take it down after the garden season is over. We still enclose one of our gardens that way and it might be all you need to deter them. Occasionally a wayward moose or spooked deer running full tilt would break through it but, other than trampling a few plants, they did not stay long enough to dine on anything and it successfully kept the marauders out. If your budget is tight, try this: For years we made do with light weight plastic mesh fencing wired onto tall metal rebar posts. Ice can weigh down a fence and even rip it.īe sure to pin it down snug between post stakes with ground stakes to keep clever deer from ducking underneath. Because of how deer jump, it’s also best to slant the fence at a 45 degree angle in the direction deer are most likely to come. The fence practically disappears visually for most of the year, only being obvious against the snowy white background in winter or when covered with ice. Other than the tall posts, the fencing is not very noticeable making it look less like Alcatraz. Deer Fencingīoy can deer jump high! To keep Bambi out of the broccoli and beans, try using an 8-foot high black polypropylene mesh fencing attached to sturdy metal posts with zip ties or stapled to wooden posts. Tell-tale sharp, pointy hoof marks mean deer have been there.ĭeer prints are easy to see in the snow. Jagged edges left behind on grazed plants indicate deer damage while a clean cut means rabbits or woodchucks are probably the culprits. Vegetable Garden Planner Review: Kenny R.ĭeer have no front teeth on top so they tear the leaves rather than neatly clipping them as a woodchuck or rabbit would.
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